Moving to Louisville and want to steer clear of the burbs, but city or country? (Anchorage: rental)

[warmerclimes]

We are relocating to Louisville next month. My husband will be working at the federal courthouse downtown and I am an RN. We are willing to commute up to 30 minutes, though don't love the idea. This will be our second big move in 9 months, the first one being from Las Vegas, NV to rural northern Minnesota. Well, the first winter here has scared us off. We haved loved being in the midst of nature - bald eagles in the trees, lake in the backyard, moose crossing the road, etc - and place a high value on open space. We also have 3 kids who are nature-loving dirt diggers so a large yard is imperative for us.

We have been looking at Oldham County and I'm wondering how country it is as opposed to suburban. In Vegas we lived downtown in a historic home so the Highlands, Crescent Hill, St. Mathews area of Louisville appeal to us. The schools scare me. Oldham County looks to have great schools and I think the transition to a quieter are would be best for our kids, as we are uprooting them yet again.

So the predicament - charming historic home in older neighborhood close to parks and ammenities or newer home with large (1 acre) yard next to woods and natural areas.

We would like to buy and have about $250,000 to spend. If we wait a year when I return to work we could probably spend double that. We would be open to rent for a short time up to one year if we could get a rental with a good school where we could then buy so as not to make my first grader change schools yet again.

Based on all of this disjointed information, are there other areas we should be looking into? What recommendations do you have?

Thanks!

[kytoaz]

it sounds as if you have educated yourself fairly well regarding the pro's and con's of each area. i personally love the highlands but this is a decision that is entirely up to you and your family. as far as your criteria goes, i can't think of two better, yet opposite areas.

[warmerclimes]

Which cities/towns in Oldham County would be the best for schools and to avoid the subdivision feel? Is there even a subdivision feel? I'm good with neighborhoods but not into cookie cutter. We'd like to do public schools at least until highschool. I'm going off of Google right now and it's hard to get an accurate idea.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by warmerclimes

Which cities/towns in Oldham County would be the best for schools and to avoid the subdivision feel? Is there even a subdivision feel? I'm good with neighborhoods but not into cookie cutter. We'd like to do public schools at least until highschool. I'm going off of Google right now and it's hard to get an accurate idea.

Oldham County can best be described as exurban at this point. To give you an idea, there is only one Starbucks in the entire county and not even a Target in the county yet. There is tons of cookie cutter but also some charming older areas.

You REALLY need to come out here and see the areas for yourself. Look into the school situation yourself more. There are some GREAT schools in JCPS.

[nlschr0]

There are FANTASTIC schools in JCPS.

You just have no guarantee of getting into them, regardless of where you live or how diligently you approach the administration.

There are also TERRIBLE schools in JCPS. Again, unfortunately, you have no guaranteed way to avoid them regardless of your residence or preference.

ETA: If you do decide to go to the $500k range, you might consider Anchorage. It is located within Jefferson county/Louisville but has a small independent school system. I have several friends that have chosen that route and all are very happy. The downside is that it is expensive (and more of an elitist environment).

[warmerclimes]

Thanks, I really appreciate all the input. We are trying to gather as much info beforehand as we will be somewhat rushed once we hit town. If we know some specifics on where to look when we get there and have done some Google mapping homework we'll have a better chance of buying a home quickly and stressing the kids out as little as possible.

What is the real reality with JCPS? I've got 3 kids, one who will be entering 2nd grade, extremely gifted, and it would be heart breaking to buy a home with a decent resides school only to have him assigned to a poorly performing school across town. I've been very happy with the resides school noted with several of the homes we've looked at on line. I understand there is no guarantee to get into the Magnets, but a decent neighborhood school with GATE programming? I mean some kids gotta go to the resides school right? Is it impossible to fight to keep him in the better school? I am a fan of public schools and like the diversity they offer I fear would be lost in private school. With 3 kids eventually in school, I would much rather save the $30-50,000/year tuition for college.

Thanks again.

[AngC]

Moving in the summer is a disadvantage as far as getting into your reside school. You can not even apply for Magnent schools at this point. We moved in June, but came up weeks earlier to register our kids in their resides elementary school. You have to register in person with proof of residency in hand. The best schools are pretty much filled during the School Choice enrollment session that ended in Jan. We were lucky and an opening came up in May. That being said, I have yet to actually meet any person who kids didn't get into their resides school. Purely antidotal evidence, I know. It sounds like you have all elementary aged children, but means you have years to deal with JCPS. OC definitely has a rural feel, so you could live out there and be pretty happy and have certainty about schools. Finding a rental out there and trying it out for a year may be a good idea. Better one more move than making the wrong decision.
Good luck!

[AngC]

Just to clarify, I am not at all saying to write off Louisville, but you can not even be sure where your kids will go to school until you buy/rent your home and go register them. That can be scary with 3 small children. We had flexibility as far as private vs public and were willing to take the chance that we may to pay tuition for a few years. Also, our kids are older. The biggest risk is with elementary school. For now, you are guaranteed your resides middle and high school.
We debated OC vs JCPS, but weren't able to decided until we house hunted and visited both areas. Things may appear one way "on paper" and very differently in real life. We ended up in JCPS attending both public and private schools. It works for our family, YMMV.